African American CEO's of Fortune 500 Companies

The "Fortune 500"  is a list of the 500 largest companies in the United States. Only 11 black executives have ever made it to the Chairman or CEO position of a "Fortune 500" listed company. Of these 11 executives, only 6 remained as of April 1, 2011. Franklin Raines became the first black person to lead a "Fortune 500" company, when he became CEO of Fannie Mae in 1999. On July 1, 2009, Ursula Burns became the first black woman to head a Fortune 500 company.

Current Black CEO's of Fortune 500 Companies

Clarence Otis, Jr.

Born: April 11, 1956, Vicksburg, MS.

Company: Darden Restaurants, Inc.

Position: Chief Executive Officer and President

Industry: Food Services

Country: United States[more]


Kenneth C. Frazier

Company: Merck & Co., Inc.

Position: President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Industry: Health Care

Country: United States[more]


Kenneth I. Chenault

Born: June 2, 1951, New York, New York.

Company: American Express

Position: Chairman and CEO

Industry: Financial Services

Country: United States[more]


Rodney O'Neal

Born: c. 1954

Company: Delphi Corporation

Position: Chief Executive Officer and President

Industry: Automotive

Country: United States[more]


Ronald A. Williams

Born: c. 1950

Company: Aetna Inc.

Position: Chairman and CEO

Industry: Health Care

Country: United States[more]


Ursula M. Burns

Born: New York, New York, September 20, 1958

Company: Xerox Corporation

Position: Chairman and CEO

Industry: Printing and Imaging Equipment

Country: United States[more]


Former African American CEO's of Fortune 500 Companies

Aylwin Lewis

Born: May 28, 1954, Houston, TX.

Company: Potbelly Sandwich Works

Position: Chief Executive Officer and President

Industry: Food Services

Country: United States[more]


Franklin Delano Raines

Born: January 14, 1949, Seattle, Washington

Company: Revolution LLC

Position: Director

Industry: Financial Services

Country: United States[more]


Lloyd D. Ward

Lloyd D. Ward

Company: CleanTech Solutions Worldwide, LLC,

Position: Chairman and CEO,

Industry: Waste Management Services, Food Manufacturing,

Country: United States[more]


Richard Dean Parson

Born: April 4, 1948, Brooklyn, NY

Company: Citigroup Inc.

Position: Chairman

Industry: Financial Services

Country: United States[more]


Stanley O'Neal

Born: Oct. 7, 1951, Roanoke, Ala.

Company: Alcoa Inc.

Position: Director

Industry: Financial Services

Country: United States

[more]


Possible Future Black CEO's of Fortune 500 Companies

Don Thompson

Born: 1963, Chicago, IL.

Company: McDonald's

Position: President and Chief Operating Officer

Industry: Food

Country: United States[more]


John W. Thompson

Born: April 24, 1949, in Fort Dix, New Jersey

Company: Virtual Instruments

Position: CEO

Industry: Technology

Country: United States[more]